PC: Fox 11 Online
(WTAQ-WLUK) — Autism is a disorder whose cause remains unknown, and for many, finding that answer is a priority.
But Monday’s announcement by the Trump administration linking the use of acetaminophen while pregnant to autism isn’t sitting well with everyone.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced new directives for physicians across the country.
“The FDA is responding to clinical and laboratory studies and suggest a potential association between infant use during pregnancy and adverse developmental outcomes, including later diagnosis for ADHD and autism,” Kennedy said.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists called the statement concerning and irresponsible. The organization says the message to pregnant women is harmful and confusing.
These same sentiments are echoed by Northeast Wisconsin families and advocates of people on the autism spectrum.
“It amplifies the worry, the guilt, the shame, that parents — especially mothers — feel, and causes even more confusion,” said Melinda Morella-Olson, who understands that confusion and guilt all too well.
Morella-Olson and her husband, Tony, have an almost 5-year-old son, Gio. At 18 months old, Morella-Olson said Gio was exhibiting some atypical behaviors. After meeting with several doctors, Gio was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.”
“He goes to school. He has friends. He has his interests. And some of them sometimes are very hyper-focused,” she said. “But he lives his life and we’re able to make it that much better because of the tools that we had.”
The tools from therapists that Morella-Olson and her husband use with Gio are very specific to their son, because not everyone living with autism is the same. She says that’s why Trump’s blanket statement on Tylenol causing autism is so upsetting to some families.
“There is no one cause for autism. It’s many different things. It’s biological, it’s environmental, it’s genetic. And that’s been grounded in years of research,” said Katie Hess, the executive director of the Autism Society of Greater Wisconsin.
Hess wants to stress that correlation doesn’t equal causation. While autism has been studied for decades, there is still more to be done, she said.
“We want to see more transparency. We want to see the inclusion of the autistic community. We want to see the inclusion of autistic experts and science-based researchers in this, so that they can make sure that it’s a credible study that’s done with enough time and enough minds in it that actually can come to a conclusion that’s accurate,” she said.
Acetaminophen is one of the few ways pregnant women can treat pain or a fever.
Prevea Health said Tuesday the conditions pregnant women use acetaminophen to treat are far more dangerous than any theoretical risks from acetaminophen itself.
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